arXiv subjects

Gemma De las Cuevas

Publications and source records attributed to Gemma De las Cuevas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Polynomial decompositions with invariance and positivity inspired by tensors

We present a framework to decompose real multivariate polynomials while preserving invariance and positivity. This framework has been recently introduced for tensor decompositions, in particular for quantum many-body systems. Here we transfer results about decomposition structures, invariance under permutations of variables, positivity, rank inequalities and separations, approximations, and undecidability to real polynomials. Specifically, we define invariant decompositions of polynomials and characterize which polynomials admit such decompositions. We then include positivity: We define invariant separable and sum-of-squares decompositions, and characterize the polynomials similarly. We provide inequalities and separations between the ranks of the decompositions, and show that the separations are not robust with respect to approximations. For cyclically invariant decompositions, we show that it is undecidable whether the polynomial is nonnegative or sum-of-squares for all system sizes. Our work sheds new light on polynomials by putting them on an equal footing with tensors, and opens the door to extending this framework to other tensor product structures.

math-ph↗

arXiv2023

Classical spin Hamiltonians are context-sensitive languages

Classical spin Hamiltonians are a powerful tool to model complex systems, characterised by a local structure given by the local Hamiltonians. One of the best understood local structures is the grammar of formal languages, which are central in computer science and linguistics, and have a natural complexity measure given by the Chomsky hierarchy. If we see classical spin Hamiltonians as languages, what grammar do the local Hamiltonians correspond to? Here we cast classical spin Hamiltonians as formal languages, and classify them in the Chomsky hierarchy. We prove that the language of (effectively) zero-dimensional spin Hamiltonians is regular, one-dimensional spin Hamiltonians is deterministic context-free, and higher-dimensional and all-to-all spin Hamiltonians is context-sensitive. This provides a new complexity measure for classical spin Hamiltonians, which captures the hardness of recognising spin configurations and their energies. We compare it to the computational complexity of the ground state energy problem, and find a different easy-to-hard threshold for the Ising model. We also investigate the dependence on the language of the spin Hamiltonian. Finally, we define the language of the time evolution of a spin Hamiltonian and classify it in the Chomsky hierarchy. Our work suggests that universal spin models are weaker than universal Turing machines.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2023

Many bounded versions of undecidable problems are NP-hard

Several physically inspired problems have been proven undecidable; examples are the spectral gap problem and the membership problem for quantum correlations. Most of these results rely on reductions from a handful of undecidable problems, such as the halting problem, the tiling problem, the Post correspondence problem or the matrix mortality problem. All these problems have a common property: they have an NP-hard bounded version. This work establishes a relation between undecidable unbounded problems and their bounded NP-hard versions. Specifically, we show that NP-hardness of a bounded version follows easily from the reduction of the unbounded problems. This leads to new and simpler proofs of the NP-hardness of bounded version of the Post correspondence problem, the matrix mortality problem, the positivity of matrix product operators, the reachability problem, the tiling problem, and the ground state energy problem. This work sheds light on the intractability of problems in theoretical physics and on the computational consequences of bounding a parameter.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Halos and undecidability of tensor stable positive maps

A map $\mathcal{P}$ is tensor stable positive (tsp) if $\mathcal{P}^{\otimes n}$ is positive for all $n$, and essential tsp if it is not completely positive or completely co-positive. Are there essential tsp maps? Here we prove that there exist essential tsp maps on the hypercomplex numbers. It follows that there exist bound entangled states with a negative partial transpose (NPT) on the hypercomplex, that is, there exists NPT bound entanglement in the halo of quantum states. We also prove that tensor stable positivity on the matrix multiplication tensor is undecidable, and conjecture that tensor stable positivity is undecidable. Proving this conjecture would imply existence of essential tsp maps, and hence of NPT bound entangled states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Magic squares: Latin, Semiclassical and Quantum

Quantum magic squares were recently introduced as a 'magical' combination of quantum measurements. In contrast to quantum measurements, they cannot be purified (i.e. dilated to a quantum permutation matrix) -- only the so-called semiclassical ones can. Purifying establishes a relation to an ideal world of fundamental theoretical and practical importance; the opposite of purifying is described by the matrix convex hull. In this work, we prove that semiclassical magic squares can be purified to quantum Latin squares, which are 'magical' combinations of orthonormal bases. Conversely, we prove that the matrix convex hull of quantum Latin squares is larger than the semiclassical ones. This tension is resolved by our third result: We prove that the quantum Latin squares that are semiclassical are precisely those constructed from a classical Latin square. Our work sheds light on the internal structure of quantum magic squares, on how this is affected by the matrix convex hull, and, more generally, on the nature of the 'magical' composition rule, both at the semiclassical and quantum level.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Approximate tensor decompositions: disappearance of many separations

It is well-known that tensor decompositions show separations, that is, that constraints on local terms (such as positivity) may entail an arbitrarily high cost in their representation. Here we show that many of these separations disappear in the approximate case. Specifically, for every approximation error $\varepsilon$ and norm, we define the approximate rank as the minimum rank of an element in the $\varepsilon$-ball with respect to that norm. For positive semidefinite matrices, we show that the separations between rank, purification rank, and separable rank disappear for a large class of Schatten $p$-norms. For nonnegative tensors, we show that the separations between rank, positive semidefinite rank, and nonnegative rank disappear for all $\ell_p$-norms with $p>1$. For the trace norm ($p = 1$), we obtain upper bounds that depend on the ambient dimension. We also provide a deterministic algorithm to obtain the approximate decomposition attaining our bounds. Our main tool is an approximate version of Carathéodory's Theorem. Our results imply that many separations are not robust under small perturbations of the tensor, with implications in quantum many-body systems and communication complexity.

math.OC↗

arXiv2020

Quantum magic squares: dilations and their limitations

Quantum permutation matrices and quantum magic squares are generalizations of permutation matrices and magic squares, where the entries are no longer numbers but elements from arbitrary (non-commutative) algebras. The famous Birkhoff--von Neumann Theorem characterizes magic squares as convex combinations of permutation matrices. In the non-commutative case, the corresponding question is: Does every quantum magic square belong to the matrix convex hull of quantum permutation matrices? That is, does every quantum magic square dilate to a quantum permutation matrix? Here we show that this is false even in the simplest non-commutative case. We also classify the quantum magic squares that dilate to a quantum permutation matrix with commuting entries, and prove a quantitative lower bound on the diameter of this set. Finally, we conclude that not all Arveson extreme points of the free spectrahedron of quantum magic squares are quantum permutation matrices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Generalised ansatz for continuous Matrix Product States

Recently it was shown that continuous Matrix Product States (cMPS) cannot express the continuum limit state of any Matrix Product State (MPS), according to a certain natural definition of the latter. The missing element is a projector in the transfer matrix of the MPS. Here we provide a generalised ansatz of cMPS that is capable of expressing the continuum limit of any MPS. It consists of a sum of cMPS with different boundary conditions, each attached to an ancilla state. This new ansatz can be interpreted as the concatenation of a state which is at the closure of the set of cMPS together with a standard cMPS. The former can be seen as a cMPS in the thermodynamic limit, or with matrices of unbounded norm. We provide several examples and discuss the result.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Cats climb entails mammals move: preserving hyponymy in compositional distributional semantics

To give vector-based representations of meaning more structure, one approach is to use positive semidefinite (psd) matrices. These allow us to model similarity of words as well as the hyponymy or is-a relationship. Psd matrices can be learnt relatively easily in a given vector space $M\otimes M^*$, but to compose words to form phrases and sentences, we need representations in larger spaces. In this paper, we introduce a generic way of composing the psd matrices corresponding to words. We propose that psd matrices for verbs, adjectives, and other functional words be lifted to completely positive (CP) maps that match their grammatical type. This lifting is carried out by our composition rule called Compression, Compr. In contrast to previous composition rules like Fuzz and Phaser (a.k.a. KMult and BMult), Compr preserves hyponymy. Mathematically, Compr is itself a CP map, and is therefore linear and generally non-commutative. We give a number of proposals for the structure of Compr, based on spiders, cups and caps, and generate a range of composition rules. We test these rules on a small sentence entailment dataset, and see some improvements over the performance of Fuzz and Phaser.

cs.CL↗

arXiv2020

Mixed states in one spatial dimension: decompositions and correspondence with nonnegative matrices

We study six natural decompositions of mixed states in one spatial dimension: the Matrix Product Density Operator (MPDO) form, the local purification form, the separable decomposition (for separable states), and their three translational invariant (t.i.) analogues. For bipartite states diagonal in the computational basis, we show that these decompositions correspond to well-studied factorisations of an associated nonnegative matrix. Specifically, the first three decompositions correspond to the minimal factorisation, the nonnegative factorisation, and the positive semidefinite factorisation. We also show that a symmetric version of these decompositions corresponds to the symmetric factorisation, the completely positive factorisation, and the completely positive semidefinite transposed factorisation, respectively. We leverage this correspondence to characterise the six decompositions of mixed states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Tensor decompositions on simplicial complexes with invariance

We develop a framework to analyse invariant decompositions of elements of tensor product spaces. Namely, we define an invariant decomposition with indices arranged on a simplicial complex, and which is explicitly invariant under a group action. We prove that this decomposition exists for all invariant tensors after possibly enriching the simplicial complex. As a special case we recover tensor networks with translational invariance and the symmetric tensor decomposition. We also define an invariant separable decomposition and purification form, and prove similar existence results. Associated to every decomposition there is a rank, and we prove several inequalities between them. For example, we show by how much the rank increases when imposing invariance in the decomposition, and that the tensor rank is the largest of all ranks. Finally, we apply our framework to nonnegative tensors, where we define a nonnegative and a positive semidefinite decomposition on arbitrary simplicial complexes with group action. We show a correspondence to the previous ranks, and as a very special case recover the nonnegative, the positive semidefinite, the completely positive and the completely positive semidefinite transposed decomposition.

math.CO↗

arXiv2019

Separability for mixed states with operator Schmidt rank two

The operator Schmidt rank is the minimum number of terms required to express a state as a sum of elementary tensor factors. Here we provide a new proof of the fact that any bipartite mixed state with operator Schmidt rank two is separable, and can be written as a sum of two positive semidefinite matrices per site. Our proof uses results from the theory of free spectrahedra and operator systems, and illustrates the use of a connection between decompositions of quantum states and decompositions of nonnegative matrices. In the multipartite case, we prove that any Hermitian Matrix Product Density Operator (MPDO) of bond dimension two is separable, and can be written as a sum of at most four positive semidefinite matrices per site. This implies that these states can only contain classical correlations, and very few of them. In contrast, MPDOs of bond dimension three can contain an unbounded amount of classical correlations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Continuum limits of Matrix Product States

We determine which translationally invariant matrix product states have a continuum limit, that is, which can be considered as discretized versions of states defined in the continuum. To do this, we analyse a fine-graining renormalization procedure in real space, characterise the set of limiting states of its flow, and find that it strictly contains the set of continuous matrix product states. We also analyse which states have a continuum limit after a finite number of a coarse-graining renormalization steps. We give several examples of states with and without the different kinds of continuum limits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Irreducible forms of Matrix Product States: Theory and Applications

The canonical form of Matrix Product States (MPS) and the associated fundamental theorem, which relates different MPS representations of a state, are the theoretical framework underlying many of the analytical results derived through MPS, such as the classification of symmetry-protected phases in one dimension. Yet, the canonical form is only defined for MPS without non-trivial periods, and thus cannot fully capture paradigmatic states such as the antiferromagnet. Here, we introduce a new standard form for MPS, the irreducible form, which is defined for arbitrary MPS, including periodic states, and show that any tensor can be transformed into a tensor in irreducible form describing the same MPS. We then prove a fundamental theorem for MPS in irreducible form: If two tensors in irreducible form give rise to the same MPS, then they must be related by a similarity transform, together with a matrix of phases. We provide two applications of this result: an equivalence between the refinement properties of a state and the divisibility properties of its transfer matrix, and a more general characterisation of tensors that give rise to matrix product states with symmetries.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Energy as a detector of nonlocality of many-body spin systems

We present a method to show that low-energy states of quantum many-body interacting systems in one spatial dimension are nonlocal. We assign a Bell inequality to the Hamiltonian of the system in a natural way and we efficiently find its classical bound using dynamic programming. The Bell inequality is such that its quantum value for a given state, and for appropriate observables, corresponds to the energy of the state. Thus, the presence of nonlocal correlations can be certified for states of low enough energy. The method can also be used to optimize certain Bell inequalities: in the translationally invariant (TI) case, we provide an exponentially faster computation of the classical bound and analytically closed expressions of the quantum value for appropriate observables and Hamiltonians. The power and generality of our method is illustrated through four representative examples: a tight TI inequality for 8 parties, a quasi TI uniparametric inequality for any even number of parties, ground states of spin-glass systems, and a non-integrable interacting XXZ-like Hamiltonian. Our work opens the possibility for the use of low-energy states of commonly studied Hamiltonians as multipartite resources for quantum information protocols that require nonlocality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Simple universal models capture all classical spin physics

Spin models are used in many studies of complex systems---be it condensed matter physics, neural networks, or economics---as they exhibit rich macroscopic behaviour despite their microscopic simplicity. Here we prove that all the physics of every classical spin model is reproduced in the low-energy sector of certain `universal models'. This means that (i) the low energy spectrum of the universal model reproduces the entire spectrum of the original model to any desired precision, (ii) the corresponding spin configurations of the original model are also reproduced in the universal model, (iii) the partition function is approximated to any desired precision, and (iv) the overhead in terms of number of spins and interactions is at most polynomial. This holds for classical models with discrete or continuous degrees of freedom. We prove necessary and sufficient conditions for a spin model to be universal, and show that one of the simplest and most widely studied spin models, the 2D Ising model with fields, is universal.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

A quantum information approach to statistical mechanics

We review some connections between quantum information and statistical mechanics. We focus on three sets of results for classical spin models. First, we show that the partition function of all classical spin models (including models in different dimensions, different types of many-body interactions, different symmetries, etc) can be mapped to the partition function of a single model. Second, we give efficient quantum algorithms to estimate the partition function of various classical spin models, such as the Ising or the Potts model. The proofs of these two results are based on a mapping from partition functions to quantum states and to quantum circuits, respectively. Finally, we show how classical spin models can be used to describe certain fluctuating lattices appearing in models of discrete quantum gravity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Purifications of multipartite states: limitations and constructive methods

We analyze the description of quantum many-body mixed states using matrix product states and operators. We consider two such descriptions: (i) as a matrix product density operator of bond dimension D, and (ii) as a purification that is written as a matrix product state of bond dimension D'. We show that these descriptions are inequivalent in the sense that D' cannot be upper bounded by D only. Then we provide two constructive methods to obtain (ii) out of (i). The sum of squares (sos) polynomial method scales exponentially in the number of different eigenvalues, and its approximate version is formulated as a Semidefinite Program, which gives efficient approximate purifications whose D' only depends on D. The eigenbasis method scales quadratically in the number of eigenvalues, and its approximate version is very efficient for rapidly decaying distributions of eigenvalues. Our results imply that a description of mixed states which is both efficient and locally positive semidefinite does not exist, but that good approximations do.

quant-ph↗